What’s happening in the world of executive coaching – May 2026

Big moves, big conversations & a season of growth 

This spring has been about growth in every sense. 

At the end of January, we made a huge life move. Not just a house move. A full life move. Family, work, routines, community, identity… all of it changing at once. What surprised me most was how immediately it felt like home. 

Of course, there’s been the reality of rebuilding rhythms. That part has been bigger than I imagined. But alongside this, new friendships and a sense of possibility have felt really exciting. 

And somehow, with all of this, work has absolutely flown. 

The past few months have been full of travel, brilliant conversations and work that has genuinely felt vibrant and energising. 

Leadership conversations that matter

One of the standout moments this spring was speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce Leadership Conference in London.

I spent time talking about executive coaching and what leadership expects of us today.

Two comments from leaders stayed with me deeply:

“You are describing me. I have done this work and am so very grateful for it — for how I experience myself in my role today.”

and

“Gosh, this stuff is uncomfortable, isn’t it. Totally unnatural and totally brilliant. I need this for my next chapter.”

Both comments perfectly capture what leadership development often feels like because leadership today is complex.

People are still people, and they still want to follow leaders they trust and believe in. But the environment around leaders is changing rapidly. Expectations are growing. Decisions are more nuanced. Contexts are shifting quickly.

And that’s why coaching matters, because even the best leaders need somewhere to think and explore decisions without judgment. Somewhere to challenge patterns and access the very best of themselves.

The leaders who do this work become better at leadership and the best at life.

Supporting teams to be their best

Alongside executive coaching, I’ve continued working with organisations and teams across the country.

At RAF Cranwell, I worked with senior leaders around Leading Self. We explored awareness, behaviours and conscious leadership.

With Lhasa Limited, we continued their Being Our Best programme using PRINT® to deepen understanding of how people do their best work.

One of my favourite moments from that programme came from a weather forecast.

Carol Kirkwood, the weather presenter, described the day as “unseasonably warm and mild,” which sparked a conversation about how we move through life and leadership.

What if we:

• walked with spring-like energy

• paused to feel the mild breeze on our faces

• stopped waiting for the “right” day to do the things that matter

• and maybe… became a little warmer and milder with ourselves too?

It genuinely felt like a spring day in every sense.

I also facilitated two PRINT® workshops with The Money Charity in London. What stood out here was the depth of conversation around purpose and impact.

The team explored not only how they understand themselves, but how that understanding helps them better serve each other and their mission. Those conversations felt meaningful. The kind of conversations where you can almost hear the thinking expanding in the room.

The power of the pause

Executive coaching has also been incredibly busy these past few months.

One CEO I worked with recently said, “I know the strategy, and I know what I want… but how? How do I actually do it?”

And honestly, I think so many leaders feel this. Knowing what needs to happen and knowing how to make it happen are two very different things.

Especially when the pressure is high, when expectations feel enormous and when every instinct is telling you to push harder.

What coaching creates is a pause. And often, that pause changes everything.

One client recently turned up to a session in slippers.

At the end, she laughed and said, “I have never felt so comfortable to actually take slippers to a coaching session.” Which genuinely made me smile. But the bigger shift wasn’t the slippers.

In just three sessions, she already felt different, and you could see it.

That’s what happens when people give themselves permission to pause and promise they’ll do things differently.

Building new communities  

Another unexpected joy of this season has been community.

Moving meant rebuilding networks from scratch, and that has taken me into some brilliant spaces.

This spring I’ve met some wonderful people at:

• The Founders Table Cambridge

• The Worshipful Company of Entrepreneurs

• Business Leaders Suffolk

• Suffolk Chamber of Commerce

• Manningtree Chamber Networking

There’s something incredibly energising about rooms full of thoughtful people wanting to contribute and build good things together.

This season has stretched me in all the right ways, and through all of it, I keep coming back to the same thing:

The best leadership work starts with us. We must look inwards with honesty, understand how we operate and what allows us to thrive, because when we do that work, everybody benefits.

If one-to-one executive coaching sounds like something you’d benefit from, then please get in touch. The same maybe useful for your executive team coaching too.